Hunt: Don't worry. It's normal for first-time fantasy
players to be a little tentative making moves in the early
going. Just don't get pressured into making a move just to
make a move, heh, heh. If your league charges for transactions,
you are hands-down the most popular owner. I like Vidro/Bay
and Renteria/Peavy and Loretta/Guillen - so hey, you're batting
.273.

About Nats' bats I've been looking, and I can't find any good information
on whether RFK Stadium will be a hitters' park or a pitchers'
park this season. Do you have any idea?Tom Logan Sacramento

Hunt: It will probably play like a pitchers' park
when the Nationals are batting and a hitters' park when they
are pitching. But seriously, it should be neutral to slightly
a pitchers' park. The dimensions are fairly spacious: 410
feet straightaway, 385 in the alleys, 335 down the lines.
There's plenty of foul territory, too. Being a hideous cookie-cutter
stadium, wind won't be much of a factor. So I do like some
of the Nats' pitchers - Livan Hernandez, of course, and Tomo
Ohka are my favorites.

If you have a question or comment, e-mail jhunt@usatoday.com.
Include your name and hometown.

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the presentation of the 2005 Tuffy Awards.

Jeff Baker went 2-for-5 on Opening Day, skewing late drafts, then went 1-for10 the rest of the week.

By Jack Dempsey, AP

The Tuffy is a not-so-coveted honor, given to that major league player who best exemplifies the spirit and fleeting glory of Mr. Karl "Tuffy" Rhodes.

Mr. Rhodes, who has since gone on to enjoy sustained excellence in Japan — the Land of the Rising Sun but no Roto — had a great impact on the world of fantasy baseball in 1994.

It was then, on Opening Day, that Rhodes hit not one, not two, but three home runs — off Dwight Gooden— for the Chicago Cubs at picturesque Wrigley Field.

From there, Rhodes went on to smaller and lesser things, hitting .234 with only five more homers.

Crestfallen fantasy owners with Rhodes on their rosters suffered through unimaginable distress in 1994, vowing never again to spend precious draft picks or draft dollars on someone just because of one game.

But for every Tuffy Rhodes owner in 1994, there are thousands who never knew the anguish of those final 161 Cubs games. And fantasy owners throughout the world continue to overbid and overspend the free agent dollars on those players who put up first-place stats on the first day.

The Tuffy Award goes to the player who not only has the most impressive Opening Day but who also racks up those glorious stats for the first week, sure to fall out of favor and off fantasy rosters in the ensuing weeks.

The envelope, please. The winner of the 2005 Tuffy Award is ...

No, not Dmitri Young. He hit three home runs on Opening Day, but he will be a fantasy force as long as he's healthy.

With his 2-for-5, two-RBI Opening Day with a home run, Baker earns the honor with this major league debut.

In keeping with the spirit of the Tuffy, Baker's exploits came at hitter-friendly Coors Field. They came off Woody Williams, not Dwight Gooden but not bad. And who better to create fantasy hype than an out-of-nowhere player for the Colorado Rockies?

Baker was supposed to spend the season in the minor leagues, learning to play right field, as the Rockies were committed to Garrett Atkins and prospect Ian Stewart at third base. That's how it might eventually play out when Atkins returns, but for now, Baker will enjoy his fantasy and reality success.

Beyond Tuffy, here are some first-week happenings that won't continue:

•Roy Oswalt giving up nearly as many earned runs (six) as the other Astros pitchers combined (seven).

•Barry Zito doing the same thing, only better — or worse. Oakland's pitcher gave up 12 earned runs — eight more than his combined teammates, including the surprising Kirk Saarloos, who gave up just one hit and one walk in six innings in an emergency start. The young A's will still have growing pains, so don't go crazy.

•Mariano Rivera looking like Jose Mesa. Chalk it up to some Red Sox-Yankees weirdness. He's a two-pitch pitcher without the command of — and hitters are currently without respect for — his famous cutter, but he should straighten things out.

•Tony Graffanino looking like Tony Gwynn. How to respond when some kid beats you out for your long-sought regular gig? Hit .412 in the first week. Ah, but Ruben Gotay is still the better offensive player, and offense — along with pitching and defense — is what Kansas City is sorely lacking.

•David Bell getting as many at-bats as Placido Polanco and Chase Utley combined. In Philadelphia, the Utley hype has died down considerably, but surely Polanco will be spelling the sore-backed Bell at third and giving Utley more time.

•Brad Radke's six-plus ERA. Minnesota's Opening Day pitcher has been excellent in two starts, giving up no walks and 11 hits in 13&frac• one• third; innings. The problem is, all but one of the hitters who have reached base against him have scored. His ERA stands at 6.07. Last season, the highest ERA among starters with sub-1.00 WHIPs belonged to Ben Sheets, 2.70.

•Paul Wilson's standard pitching line. The Reds' Opening Day starter had this line in his first outing: six innings, eight hits, three runs, three earned runs, two walks, two strikeouts, two home runs, no decision. Then this in his second outing: six innings, eight hits, three runs, three earned runs, two walks, two strikeouts, two home runs, no decision.

•Joe Randa's power. Where did it come from? The Cincinnati third baseman had nearly as many homers in the first week (three) and spring training (four) than he did in 485 at-bats last season (eight).

Things that might continue:

•Omar Vizquel's basestealing. He had four stolen bases, and the green light from manager Felipe Alou, who will let Vizquel run as wild as a 38-year-old with surgically repaired knees can. Ray Durham, Marquis Grissom and Michael Tucker owners also stand to gain from the newly steal-friendly Alou — while Barry Bonds is out, of course.

•Mark Bellhorn's strikeouts. The Red Sox infielder finished third in the American League in walks last year with 88, but it's obvious that pitchers are challenging him more in 2005. He had one walk and nine strikeouts in the first week. If this continues, his at-bats will rise and his batting average (a career mark of .242) will pack a more unpleasant punch.

•Luis Gonzalez's comeback. He's a well-preserved 37-year-old who is admittedly coming off Tommy John surgery. Keep in mind: In his five seasons in Arizona before 2004, he averaged .314-34-115-5 — he won't do that again, but the drop-off might be slight.

•J.D. Drew's disappointment. He'll do better than 0-for-22 with the Dodgers, but it's hard to imagine he'll repeat those 2004 numbers: .305-31-93-12. People talk about Adrian Beltre's numbers possibly being inflated by a salary drive, but that seems more likely in Drew's case. Why didn't they go after Carlos Beltran harder?

•Carlos Pena's patience. The AL leader in walks in the first week may surprise you: Yes, it's the Tigers' Pena, who has long since faded from most fantasy owners' radars. Pena has stepped up his walk rate in each of the last three seasons, and the first baseman who was expected to burst onto the scene three years ago appears to be making steady strides toward being a fantasy force.

• Fantasy owners' overreliance on first-week stats. Remember, it's a good idea not even to look at standings for the first three weeks. Everything is overblown and skewed at that time. Ask those owners who were burned in 1994.

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John Hunt writes about fantasy baseball for USA TODAY Sports Weekly. You can e-mail him at jhunt@usatoday.com.